It’s that time of year again – where hearts and cupids are everywhere we look, and the self development world is plastering quotes on self-love. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for love. But why does it have to be centered around buying more stuff, and what the heck does self-love mean anyway?

Love can mean very different things from one person to the next. And the road toward self-love can be long and hard, and is very personal. Yet, self-love is often spoken of as if it were a switch that could be simply turned on. And even more so, we often paint the picture that self-love is an idealized state where we only feel positive feelings towards ourselves.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Loving ourselves does not mean our inner critical voice is suddenly shut off, or that we never suffer, or that we don’t become disappointed in ourselves.

And from my experience, you can’t just decide to love something or someone and immediately have it be so. It takes intention, nurturing, and most of all time. Trying to force an end result without first focusing on the steps to get there can be disheartening.

What happens when you fail at something, or don’t meet your own expectations? What happens if you kind of hate a part of yourself? What happens when you decide to love yourself, you struggle with it, and then perhaps you start to think thoughts like: “Why can’t I? What’s wrong with me?” What happens when you think overly critical or hateful thoughts, then turn it around and say something loving – but it only makes you feel worse because you don’t truly believe it?

It’s exactly in moments like these where telling ourselves to be more loving might actually backfire.

So what then?

What if instead, we focused more on being compassionate toward ourselves?

Doesn’t that already feel oh so much lighter? Self compassion doesn’t ask us to judge ourselves, it’s simply a way of relating to ourselves kindly. It allows us to embrace ourselves as we are right now, flaws and all. It gives us permission to feel the way we feel without shame. It gives us a more solid sense of self worth because it’s there for us when we fail. It deeper connects us to others because it reminds us that to be human is to be imperfect.

You already have the roadmap and the skills to be compassionate. I can bet that you at least try to be compassionate with your good friends and loved ones. So there’s nothing more you need to learn; it’s simply a softening in to include yourself in the encouragement, understanding, empathy, patience, and gentleness you offer others.

I believe that once we stop treating ourselves so differently and show ourselves the same compassion as we do others, we will come to truly acknowledge our shared nature of our imperfect humanity – thus opening our hearts even wider to others and ourselves, in turn creating a more loving world all around.

You already have everything you need. Your authentic Soul voice is bright, beautiful, and patently waiting to freely express itself.

Its quiet voice is always speaking to you, through what we call intuition, even if you can’t quite hear it now. We all have intuition… it’s our inner knowing, or what I like to call the language of our Soul. It’s the part of you that speaks the truth about who you are and what you want. So basically, it’s your life road map to living your purpose, and your most fulfilled, joyful life!

If we get present and follow its urges when we sit down to create, we will develop an art journaling practice that can ultimately bring us more confidence, happiness, self-awareness, healing, and a newfound sense of wholeness.

If doing that feels impossible for you right now, then for one reason or another, your mind is trying to protect you from letting your creative spirit free, from letting your intuitive Soul lead the way. (You’re not alone! It’s a totally natural part of being human.) The key then, is to go gently, with compassion, and start to build trust between your mind and your intuitive Soul.

Your mind is so used to being in control and predicting outcomes. For us to truly get present and follow our Soul’s whims one step at a time, means to step into the scary unknown. That place of unknowing, of uncertainty, can feel dark and filled with monsters. We will hold on for dear life and fight tooth and nail not to be thrown off the edge into that scary space!

So the only way in, is to start slow, start gently, hold that compassion for the part of you that’s scared sh**less, celebrate yourself every step of the way, and build trust that when you listen to your intuition, everything will indeed be okay.

TIP: Practice being present and becoming an observer of your thoughts. When fears or judgements come up, acknowledge it without running away, then choose courage – what one step are you willing to take next?

I so hope that you have found this Soul Truths series to be helpful and inspiring!

If you would love to get more support around connecting to and building trust with your creative, intuitive Soul so that you may express yourself more fully in your journal (and in life!), then I invite you to join me and a community of other Soul Seekers in my 6-week program Creative Soul Roots. (We start October 2nd!)

In it, I’ll guide you through a series of fun, creative exercises that will help you to put these Soul Truths into action, nurture your creative Soul, and develop the skills needed to get out of your head and into your heart. Click Here for more info & to reserve your spot!

Whether you decide to join us or not, I know for certain that if you’re here, then creative expression is the path you were meant to take to help liberate your Soul. I know you can do this, don’t give up!

Unfortunately our society tends to dismiss play for adults, and perceives it as unproductive, petty, or as a “guilty pleasure”. We’ve formed the belief that in order for something to be meaningful or legitimate, we have to work hard at it. Yet recent studies are showing us that play and rest are essential; it’s just as important as getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercise.

Play helps us to relieve stress, manage emotions, connect deeper with ourselves, and create stronger and more meaningful bonds with others.

The truth is, we can simultaneously be productive, be helpful, be of service, finish our tasks, AND be light, playful beings. Because play has more to do with your willingness to be uninhibited, to be imaginative, to be joyful. Play is about allowing yourself to express your spirit without restraint. Play is about allowing yourself to be YOU.

Play is more than just being child-like, it’s a transformative, vulnerable state to be in. It’s surrender of the ego. It’s choosing curiosity and aliveness. It’s letting go of outcomes or expectations, and being fully present to the here and now. It’s responding to what’s happening with curiosity, instead of reacting – and there’s where real transformation can happen.

And when you pair play with expressing yourself in an art journal, it becomes a vehicle for powerful healing! Art journaling is a beautiful (and fun!) way to free your Soul, and to facilitate your self growth; allowing you to explore and express your inner self. It shouldn’t be put on your “guilty pleasures” list – with it directly linked to our mental health, it should be top priority!

It doesn’t have to be as hard and stressful as we sometimes make it out to be either. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do it “right”, and to search for meaning. But change, transformation, and self expression can happen with ease and play! As long as you allow yourself to play and follow your intuition, the transformation you seek will naturally happen. So stop stressing yourself out about art journaling. You can’t do it wrong!

You are here to dance a splendid dance in this lifetime and to feel the fullness of who you are! Allow play to be the easeful, fun way in which you align yourself and your life with who you truly are!

TIP: Start by practicing showing up to your art journal and committing to just one minute of play with paints or crayons. And if possible, create with young children – kids are masters at play and creativity, let them lead the way!

A creative block can show up in many different ways. Perhaps you’ve just been stuck in avoidance or procrastination. Perhaps you’ve been caught in the research trap, constantly watching YouTube videos or tutorials. Perhaps you keep buying new supplies, gathering so much that you now feel overwhelmed by the choices or you actually forget what you have. Perhaps you have a loud inner critic that’s telling you that you aren’t good enough, so why bother. Perhaps you approach your journal tentatively, so afraid of messing things up or doing it “wrong”.

However you experience your stuck, if you try to force through it or yell at your inner critic to ‘shut up’ (or ignore it!), you’re only digging yourself deeper into the rut.

Look, we live in a world where the logical mind is King. Our culture, especially here in the US, relies so heavily on the mind and the “left-brain” way of thinking. We honor logic, structure, speed, control; so much so that we often let our minds run on auto-pilot. Your mind is used to being in control. To let go, so that you can create freely, is really scary and threatening.

If you’re feeling like there’s a force field between you and your art materials, you’re probably right. Your mind (aka ego, aka inner critic) will do anything to protect you. It will do anything to stay in control, the way you were taught to. It will do anything to protect your inner child or inner artist from getting hurt again. So yelling at it, or trying to force it to stand down so your intuitive, creative Soul can lead the way, will only make it stand firmer in place.

Your mind is only doing it’s job. And it’s scared to let go. The only way to loosen its grip, is to face it bravely with compassion. (The climax scene in Disney’s movie Moana comes to mind!)

TIP: Start practicing compassion with yourself. Then, start exploring: What would help your mind to feel safe enough to play in an art journal?

Practicing in an art journal isn’t about figuring out how to do it, it’s about learning to navigate your inner world and the unknown. You don’t have to know what you’re doing, to know what you’re doing. You may never discover a formula, and when expressing yourself, you will never know where it will lead; but what you will discover, is what works for you in terms of feeling into your intuition, getting past the hard parts, finding the joy, and navigating the fear monsters.

We often crave rules and step-by-step instruction because we want to do it “right”. We want to know what to expect. We want to know what we’re heading into. Predictability feels safe. Control feels safe. But with true, authentic creative expression, there is no right or wrong. There is no step-by-step guide. We need to embrace the unexpected. We need to be open to mystery and surprise! In fact, the less you know, the better.

I know all too well how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of art journaling – delving into the infinite possibilities of techniques, and exploring how other people approach their journal. We tend to over complicate things (at least, I know I do!), especially when we want to learn something new. We dive deep into learning everything there is to know about it, searching for the one “right” way to do it. We start comparing our work to others’. We get hung up with how-to’s and perfecting… unintentionally squashing the fun-loving, curious part of ourselves that just wants to create and play with child-like freedom.

But for your Soul to shine through onto the page (and into your life!), you must get out of your head, and into your heart. You must step into that space of the unknown… That place where you have no idea what to expect next. That place where anything can happen. That’s where the magic lies!

TIP: Approach your journal without a plan and without a vision. You don’t (and shouldn’t!) know how you’re going to start or where it’s going to lead. Instead, follow your intuitive urges one step at a time, allowing something to emerge naturally.

Welcome to my mini series – Soul Truths! My hope is that if you’ve been feeling creatively stuck, what I share will help you get clear on why that is, and inspire you to start trusting in your Creative Soul once more!

But, that doesn’t mean you should be creating gorgeous art right out the gate. If you’re just returning to your creativity, or just starting to learn to create from your Soul (versus copying others or an image), then you’re going to suck at it. But that’s okay!

Here’s the deal – We ALL were born as curious, creative beings. If you’re human, you have the ability to be creative. You can think of it as a quality within you that’s perhaps been stifled, or you can imagine that there’s a stream of creativity that’s available for everyone to tap into – you just gotta learn to do the tapping in. We all started out trusting our creativity (have you ever watched children create!?), but for one reason or another, that part of us got left behind. So to begin our journey of learning to authentically express ourselves with art, we must start from where we left off… as beginners.

You can’t expect to be able to do something as well as someone else who’s been practicing for years. Don’t let other artists’ work intimidate you or make you feel not good enough… They’ve likely been practicing for much longer, and if you stick with it, you’ll get better at it too.

Your inner artist, is most likely a young child who’s so eager to play, to create, to explore, to have FUN! It doesn’t need criticizing or judgment from you, only encouragement. We must allow our inner artists to be that child, that beginner; paying less attention to what our expressions look like, and more attention to how it FEELS.

The more you allow yourself to play, experiment, and make mistakes, you’ll start to build a foundation and understanding of how things come together so you can start finding your own authentic style!

TIP: Don’t isolate yourself. Find community support with other beginners and have fun! (And perhaps step away from Pinterest and Instagram for a while!)

I have heard from way too many people that even though they know how much art journaling can benefit and impact their lives, they still struggle with the fear of messing things up, letting loose, not feeling good enough, finding joy in the process, or just not being able to start at all. Sound familiar?

And if you’re anything like me when I first started exploring the world of art journaling, you’ve probably put in hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos, bought all the “right” supplies, poured over your beautiful magazines and “how-to” books, and perhaps even taken a few art classes… and yet, you’re still feeling stuck. Now what?

What if… you were able to find everything you ever needed, right inside of you?

You already have everything you need. Your authentic Soul voice is bright, beautiful, and patently waiting to freely express itself.

So why does it feel so damn hard?

Look, I know all too well how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of art journaling – buying all the new products, delving into the infinite possibilities of techniques, and exploring how other people approach their journal. I mean, ‘come on, it’s total eye candy, I love it too!!

But when we get caught up in all of that, we’re caught in our head. And we can’t access our heart or intuition, where authentic expression truly lies. Pile on our social conditioning to rely more on our logical “left brain”, and now we’re really stuck.

Let’s face it, the last thing you need is another tutorial or more art supplies. Save those for when you can really use them. For now? I’ve got a free mini series coming up that just might help.

To support you in getting moving on this path toward authentic expression, and in celebration of my yearly class Creative Soul Roots that’s starting soon, I’ll be sharing a series of Soul-Truths that will help you get clear on why you’ve been feeling stuck, and inspiration to start trusting in your Creative Soul once more.

So if you’ve been yearning to express yourself freely in an art journal, but still feeling stuck, not good enough, not knowing where to start, or just not able to find joy in the process, sign up below for this free mini series which starts Monday, Sept 18th.

Sorry, the Soul Truths series has now ended. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter below to get notified when I run the series again!

For the last many weeks, I have been in shock as to all of the ways people are lashing out in hate and all of the ways the earth has been crying out in pain. I have been feeling lost and sick watching it all happen. I’ve been struggling through the heaviness of it all. And yet… there’s also a fire growing within me. A fire of anger, and strength, and determination. A fire that is calling me into action. To align myself with who I truly am. To stand firmly in what I truly believe. To speak up when something is NOT okay.

Through all this, I’ve been getting more clear on how inner work is intrinsically connected to society, family dynamics, politics, and all that is happening around us. It is all so tightly interwoven. If I am here to support our Souls’ liberation, then I must also be a part of tearing down the systems that keep us locked up. I’m not exactly sure what that looks like for me yet, especially because I have never been an outspoken person, I like to keep to myself in my home, and I never used to pay much attention to politics. But I’ve been really listening these last few months, especially these last few weeks. And what I do know, is that the more firmly we can stand in our own authenticity and what WE believe in, the more others will be able to as well.

Most of us have been taught not to listen to or believe in ourselves, which has made it easy for society to shape us. But no more. We are waking up and we are reclaiming ourselves.

In order for change to happen, we all need to be able to stand firm in who we are and what we believe in. If we are to change anything that is happening out there, we must stop dilly dallying and get to work. And by “get to work” I don’t only mean the actions the world needs from us, but I also mean get to playing, get to living, get to BEing – because that’s how we’re going to be more connected to who we truly are so that the actions we do take are more rooted.

We’ve been relying on our fearful, analytical, perfectionist, controlling brain too much. We have forgotten our Soul, our true essence; which is full of compassion, of knowing (and not knowing), of love, curiosity, courage, and clarity.

I can’t imagine what the world would be like if we were all living from our true essence, using our brain as a helpful tool, rather than letting it rule the show with it’s unconscious patterns that were shaped by society.

It’s time to reconnect with the pieces of ourselves that have been hidden away, and find harmony within. I believe art journaling can be the playful way in which we can begin doing that; but yet I see so many struggling against their mind to even get started. So, to support as many people to get moving on this path as I can, and in celebration of my upcoming class Creative Soul Roots, I’ll be sharing a series of Soul-Truths that will help you get clear on why you’ve been feeling stuck, and inspiration to start trusting in your Creative Soul once more.

If you’ve been yearning to express yourself freely in an art journal, but still feeling stuck, not good enough, not knowing where to start, or just not able to find joy in the process, sign up for this free mini series which starts Monday, Sept 18th.

My hope is that once you let these Soul Truths settle in, you’ll know exactly how to begin and keep moving with joy, courage, and authenticity.

Sorry, the Soul Truths series has now ended. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter below to get notified when I run the series again!

It’s been so long my friend, since I’ve sat down to write to you. Last time I wrote I was full of excitement and anticipation as I began my journey of opening up to the deeper currents of what creativity has been awakening in me and preparing to gather women together in a private space to explore our hidden “right-brain” aspects.

I’ve been doing a lot of exploring and sharing privately within my new blossoming Soul Circle Community, but as promised I wanted to start sharing some of my experiences with you as well so that you too may begin to remember and reconnect with these aspects that may be hidden.

Each month within the community we’ve been bringing our attention and curiosity toward one particular theme that we may have been disconnected from; and this month we’re exploring SENSUALITY.

At first hearing the word “sensuality” you may automatically start thinking of “sexuality” – which I did as well when I first started getting acquainted with this word. But in truth, you can absolutely be sensual without being sexual, and you can be sexual without being sensual.

Sensuality has more to do with really connecting to your senses in the moment. Being fully present in your body and feeling the pleasure from what you’re experiencing, whether that be seeing a beautiful sunset, or smelling a rose, or slowly sipping your tea.

We often live our days being totally disconnected to ourselves and the environment around us. How alive would you feel if you slowed down to actually taste your food? If you slowed down to notice the beauty around you? If you slowed down to really feel the texture of the clothes on your body?

For me personally, getting back in touch with my senses was the beginning of my journey back home to myself.

I never knew just how disconnected I was until my friend and intuitive writer, Rebecca Cavender asked me what my favorite sounds and sights were a few years back. I couldn’t answer! It got me scared, thinking that I had no clue who I was. But through exploration and sharing stories, I was able to recognize and remember all that I had thought I lost. Long story short, I realized that I AM ME and I will ALWAYS be me. There’s no “forgetting”. There’s no “unearthing” to do. The journey back home to myself was simply about becoming more aware. And so began this incredible journey.

Today, I still have trouble answering questions about myself. But I’m okay with that now, because I feel more at home in who I am, and I’m more present in the here and now. My memory may not work as well as other’s, but I can fully feel my experience and who I am right now. And this all begins with getting present, within your body.

What do you see and hear around you? What textures do you feel? Are there sensations happening within your body?

Below are a few practices that we’ve been playing with this month to explore our sensuality and the relationship we have with our body. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to try one (or all!) yourself!

—->>Find moments to dance and move your body in new and unexpected ways –perhaps while doing the dishes or taking a shower!

—->>When you eat, eat slowly, savoring every bite. Really pay attention to the texture and the taste as you move it around your mouth before swallowing.

—->>Set a timer on your phone for every hour, and when the alarm goes off seek out sensual pleasure in the moment. What beauty do you see? What feels good on your skin? Does something smell or taste good?

—->> One of our most inspiring activities this month is a creative process called body mapping.

I engaged my senses with some drumming and lavender oil, then paused for a few moments to feel the sensations in my body. I then traced my body onto the canvas and intuitively filled it in with color and shape.

It was such an expressive, healing experience! I urge you to give it a try yourself!

Reconnecting with your body can feel hard, and sometimes scary. But it doesn’t need to be. keep it light and fun! Using curiosity and play are great ways to begin exploring.

Much love to you!!

UPDATE: Our Soul Circle Community is now open! In a nutshell, it’s a monthly membership community of women to support each other in exploring our inner worlds and bringing more life into our day-to-day. CLICK HERE to learn more and to join us!!

Over the years of diving into art journaling and supporting others to fully express themselves, I’ve always felt a deeper current happening beneath the surface. It has always been hard for me to name with words, but over the last couple years things have been getting more and more clear.

And this year, I am finally making the shift to fully embrace this deeper current, exploring it and expressing it through my emails, articles, videos, and offerings so that you too may dive deeper into the healing and transformation of it to live a more vibrant life.

So what might you expect from here on out?

Let me start by first sharing more about my journey of coming into clarity about this…

You may have heard my story of how I shifted from creating and living a life of control and perfectionism, to living and creating more freely and intuitively. I’ve written about this numerous times on the blog (HERE and HERE) and in my free AIR Book – how I got so burnt out with creating products with a step-by-step formula and always trying to perfect things, that I had to quit my job and rediscover the joy of creating.

And the more I told and retold my story, especially as it was unfolding, the more I could see the bigger picture of what was really happening.

That shift from struggling with creativity to falling in love with the process using play, curiosity, and most of all, my intuition, has been such a huge life changer for me. Not only with creativity, but within myself as well. Through this way of creating from the soul, I rediscovered parts of me I didn’t even realize I had lost. And I continue to discover more every day.

And as I awaken these parts of me within, I can more clearly see how disconnected I truly was to myself, and how it was all due to an imbalance that still plagues the majority of the western world today.

Our society relies so heavily on the mind and the "left-brain" way of thinking. We honor logic, structure, speed, control; so much so that we often let our minds run on auto-pilot and we forget that there’s this whole other part of us within – this gentler, kinder, wiser, creative, feminine part of us.

We tend to live on the surface of our mind, experiencing our fears and scattered thoughts. We can so easily get caught up in the to-do lists, the constant forward movement. And this masculine, "left brain" way of thinking really wore me down to the point of depression.

At the time, I had no idea what was wrong. All I knew was that there was something more. Something I was missing.

We as humans, the lives we lead, and the world around us are all made up of infinite dualities. But our culture is only looking at one side of the coin.

Looking back, I can now clearly see that I was suffering from imbalance. I had completely shut down my "right-brain" way of thinking – the part of me that is intuitive, emotional, feminine, and oh so creative.

I was only living from half of who I truly was.

And through creativity I’ve been unconsciously reawakening this other side of the duality. But I am ready now to bring more light to these feminine, "right-brain" aspects.

I want to start consciously exploring not just creativity, but also intuition, sensuality, emotions, play, beauty, and all of the other pieces of ourselves that may be shut down or hiding.

With this in mind, I’ve been quietly building something new… And my heart is fluttering like crazy just thinking about sharing it with you.

I have been creating a space for women to support each other in bringing more life into our day-to-day by exploring and bringing more awareness to the beautiful depths of who we truly are through creativity, playfulness, and connection. I’ll be offering it as a monthly community in which we’ll explore all of the different "right-brain" aspects of ourselves.

—> (If you might be interested in joining me, send me an email at hello{at}kristalnorton.com to let me know. I’ll be opening the doors on Tuesday to a select few women to become the founding members of this blossoming community.)

Throughout our explorations over the year and beyond, I’ll be sharing my stories and insights with you via email and my blog so that you too may gain a deeper connection to yourself.

Creativity will still be my main focus for what I share (and it will be the connecting thread throughout our private community explorations), but it will now be flavored with deeper insights around ALL of the feminine, "right-brain" aspects of ourselves. :)

I hope this shift will continue to inspire you and enrich your life, as much as it has been enriching mine.

I'm Kristal: an artist, writer, creativity guide and inspirationalist. If you're ready to fully reclaim your true creative self, then you're in the right place...
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About Kristal

Kristal is a creative life coach who helps women reclaim their creative magic, reconnect with their Soul, and realize their innate magnificence so they can lead a more authentic, fulfilling life. Click here to read more...